Fatherhood can be a challenge. Fortunately for dads, there are some great books out there that are great resources. Owen Egerton is joined by "Alternadad" author and father Neal Pollack. This novel offers parenting advice for fathers. He shares some stories that inspired the book. This piece of writing is entertaining and fun for all parents. Check out The Lounge for more of our interview with Neal. DadLabs Ep. 10.

Daddy Neal: I don’t know if it means anything or not but it’s kind of like as a dad who grew up just completely soaked in pop culture in some ways it’s what we have to offer our kids. You know, it’s like I don’t have any skills. I don’t know how to fish, I’m not a good skier, I’m not handy with tools, I don’t know how to work on a car other than maybe to change a tire in a pinch. So what I’ve got to offer my kid is a lot of cultural influences. You know, from punk rock to show tunes.

Daddy Owen: And do find with that – you know when I was a kid I started listening to a lot music my parents knew nothing about. Then I discovered the Beatles and all of a sudden my dad and I could talk for a long time about the Beatles, for hours.

Daddy Neal: Right.

Daddy Owen: Do you find that you’re sort of setting up your kid to have sort of a cultural vocabulary where you guys can connect? Whether it’s about Chewbacca or whatever.

Daddy Neal: Sure. Absolutely. It already happens. We know his reference base really well because we helped shape it and we’re in tune with it. And I just think it makes relating to your kid easier.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: And the fact that I don’t have “grown up” tastes. I do have some grown up tastes. We’re not watching Louie Boone Well movies together, I not reading Dubokov to him. Sometimes a bedtime story. I have some more kind of grown up tastes but that kind of generation gap just isn’t going to be there.

Daddy Owen: Right. And what you’re saying too. Like something like the Muppets for example. That’s just good. It’s just good.

Daddy Neal: Yeah and that’s the thing right? I also got season one of the Animaniacs on DVD.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: And he’s already watching goofy cartoons so why not watch goofy cartoons that are super imaginative and super original and self referential and funny.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: So I would rather him be watching that than Maggie and the Ferocious Beast on Noggin.

Daddy Owen: Yeah, I haven’t seen that.

Daddy Neal: Well you don’t have cable.

Daddy Owen: No.

Daddy Neal: That’s why. You’ve missed a lot of garbage. We have not.

Daddy Owen: Let me ask you this. Since the book came out, actually I guess even before the book came out there were articles all over the place and often you being a kind of center point for conversations about hipster parents and alternative parenting. Or not even just alternative parenting, but alternative in the sort of cultural sense in parenting.

Daddy Neal: Yeah. I think that the book’s title is meant to be periodic on its face. It's the kind of term that the media would have given dads like us.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: You know, Alternadad.

Daddy Owen: Yeah – you got a jump…

Daddy Neal: I coined it. Because alternative culture was sort of the safe A political counter-cultural lifestyle that we were sold when we were younger.

Daddy Owen: Right.

Daddy Neal: But it wasn’t alternative to anything. Just like today’s parenting isn’t alternative to anything. I think there’s just a greater lever of self-awareness about parenting roles and there’s more discussion and I think that there’s somewhat of a generational reaction to corporate parenting culture – sort of a super imposed corporate parenting culture. And I think there’s a desire to chart your own course to some extent. There’s nothing alternative about the way we’re trying to feed and clothe – feed to some extent – but like we all want to feed and clothe and house our children safely and well.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: That’s not – there’s nothing new there. It not like we’re raising our kids in communes. In some ways we’re very conservative, traditional families. Like my wife and I and our kid, and you and your wife and your kid. You know nuclear family sort of defined, but slightly dressed down.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: But I do think there’s a desire not to sort of give in to sort of the cult of childhood that has dominated our culture for decades.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: So I think to some extent this is a push back. And I think that although there are a lot of wonderful, smart entrepreneurial energy going into this. Like having kids was an impetus for a lot of really good bands to form, record labels, you know you have websites like the one we’re on right now, there are many others. And products – people are beginning to do all kinds of crafts and developing all kinds of toys and machines and stuff. And I think it’s been a real boon. Sort of entrepreneurial creativity in a way and it’s a really fun time to be a parent.

Daddy Owen: Yeah it is.

Daddy Neal: In some ways, you know? And in some ways it’s a crappy time to be a parent, because there’s a lot of crappy things about being a parent. But, the fact that there are so many other people who are thinking about this stuff and putting energy into it is fun and inspiring.

Daddy Owen: So Neal, actually going into some of the other things you were saying about this sort of … as you said it not really necessarily a different style of parenting but there is a sort of aspect of, like, because I’m a parent doesn’t mean I can’t wear blue jeans anymore or have to throw away my Spoon albums.

Daddy Neal: Well sure. And I think there’s been a lot sort of deriding of the fashion sense of gen x parents, but there’s been – their wearing their hoodies and their $500 pair of sneakers and such & such. All my clothes combined I probably haven’t spent $500 dollars on. You know what I mean? It’s not as materialistic as some of the negative press has made it sound.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.

Daddy Neal: It’s just that a lot of us don’t have office jobs. And you know - if you don’t have an office job why put on a suit? You put on a suit to go to a wedding, you know? Or maybe if you have an important meeting you put it on. But those come very, very rarely. So I don’t think it means anything, the way you dress – what does that mean? It doesn’t mean anything and I think that – I just know so many active, involved, interested parents who aesthetically don’t appear as the parents of a previous generation.

Daddy Owen: Yeah.